Kacey Musgraves has been doing her level best to disrupt the well-ordered country music apple cart since she released the single “Merry Go ‘Round” last September. The song never made it to #1, but her album Same Trailer, Different Park did, and her deconstruction of social mores through intelligent lyrics has been a refreshing breath of independent thinking on country radio.

Recently when speaking to American Songwriter, Kacey elaborated on her strange existence in the mainstream country format, and how she’s not exactly happy where it is, and the stereotypes it brings to her music.

My voice is undeniably country, and I love country. Do I love what it’s turned into? No, not all the way. It’s a little embarrassing when people outside of the genre ask what I sing and I say country. You automatically get a negative response, a cheese factor. My favorite compliment ever is when someone says, “I hate country music but I love your music.”

Kacey explains that the “Merry Go ‘Round” single was key to being able to do music her way.

…I had been lobbying for “Merry Go ‘Round” to be my first single, because it was something I really believed in. I think they initially wanted something ”¦ upbeat. That was kind of the tipping point. Because [“Merry Go ‘Round”] got a positive reaction, it made it much easier from there on out. I want to push buttons early on because I feel like it’ll weed out people who want to be my fans for the wrong reason. Labels would say, ‘Appeal to everyone first and then push buttons later.’ That’s fucked up because it will give people the wrong idea of who I am.

35 Comments

Mike
May 10, 2013 @
12:35 pm

On some level, I agree with her, but I can’t stand people who say “I hate country, but I like___” Usually they say Johnny Cash, but I guess now they say Kacey Musgraves too. Yes, I don’t like Jason Aldean or Toby Keith, but there are obviously a lot more people out there than just Kacey Musgraves, and I’m not just talking about “underground” or old country. There are still dozens of mainstream Nashville acts who are very good.

I don’t know the whole context of the interview, but I would think she should at least say “well, you’ve been listening to the wrong country singers” or something like that.

I can’t stand that sentiment either, but I can totally understand it. Look, we are all lucky that somehow, someway we were enlightened to the fact that there is a whole other world of music out there that doesn’t exist on Top 40 radio. Some people just haven’t been made privy to that knowledge, and if you listened to country from the outside looking in, turned on your local Top 40 country station and immediately heard “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Boys ‘Round Here,” and “Truck Yeah,” then you may have a very unfavorable view of the genre too. That is why it is the job of every enlightened music fan to help spread their knowledge and show people the full spectrum of country music.

Sturgill Simpson may have said it best. “I want to make country music for people who think they hate country music because they”™ve never heard country music.”

From the perspective of an artist, it’s a huge thing when you break through someone’s preconceived notions with your music. A fan complementing your music really isn’t appropriate time to school some on their ignorance of the genre.

What would be a big deal for country music is if the ACL brand returned to its roots of promoting core and up-and-coming artists of the Texas scene and acted like an important part of the talent farm system instead of selling out to big corporate music names to generate more revenue to what is supposed to be a not-for-profit brand.

Eric Church was Luke Bryan 10years ago. Then Church saw authenticity in music break into the mainstream the way he never could or can in the form of Jamey Johnson, and since.. Church has been caught between Hank Jr. and Brantley Gilbert.

I hate it when I tell people that I like Country and they claim that it’s all slow-paced, whiney music that only ever talks about beer, girls, trucks and dogs (which, for the record, I’ve only ever heard one song that was devoted to a canine). I’ve even had an ignorant hipster tell me that it’s “okay to have a bad taste in art” (I wanted to knock him out). While I didn’t like “Merry Go Round,” I appreciate the creativity that went into it’s production. I still like a lot of modern songs but I’ll be the first to admit that the vast majority are shallow, stupid or just plain bad (sometimes all three). If Musgraves, either alone or as a part of a group, can make modern Country good (on average) again, it’ll be fantastic. Maybe when Garth Brooks comes out of retirement?

I can’t help but feel my suspicion is being slowly confirmed that Musgraves isn’t going to have a lasting impact on radio as a lead artist, and that where she’ll remain most potent will be as a prolific songwriter for other artists both in and beyond Nashville.

Despite the mountainous hype surrounding her from the onset, whether it be spots on “60 Minutes”, countless critical acclaim from major publications and even a confirmed stint on the Billboard Music Awards…………..it just isn’t translating to fervent airplay and single sales. The results aren’t exactly lining up with the hype. And this goes back to what I was worried about before in how everyone was almost deifying Musgraves as a savior of country music and leaving in their wake all these lofty expectations for her to live up too……….and warning of the massive disappointment this would set us up for (not in the quality sense, but in the integrative sense) should she come up short.

On the other hand, the Musgraves-assisted “Mama’s Broken Heart” reached #1 on Mediabase (damn you, Florida-Georgia Line, for blocking it on Billboard! >=( ) and has become her highest-peaking career single to date on the Billboard Hot 100. So I feel her future is unmistakably bright as a songwriter and how she can prove to move mountains more off the radio charts.

On the radio charts, however, as a lead artist I’m inclined to believe she’ll go more the way of Jamey Johnson in that she’ll make minimal impact in that fashion, but make momentous impact through other mediums.

Good analysis, Noah. At this point, I would also be more inclined to equate Musgraves to Jamey Johnson than to say Eric Church. Her music isn’t likely going to be as radio friendly so to speak, and as a result, she won’t become the mainstream superstar that Church has become. Speaking of Church, I just hope that he doesn’t lose his way and turn into another Jason Aldean. Now, that Kellie Pickler has turned toward a more traditional sound and away from the standard Nashville pop, she will sell fewer albums. Church and Miranda Lambert are two artists out there who are able to keep that traditional rebel edge about them while also doing just enough to appease to pop country audience. It’s a very strange balancing act.

So when do we augment the Jamey Johnson model to reflect that he hasn’t released an original song in over two years, and admits he’s not currently writing either? My guess is this is not where Kacey Musgraves hopes to be 5 years down the road.

I wouldn’t call Jamey Johnson’s career any type of “model” to follow like other acts in the past 10-15 years that are created from a methodical approach. It would be like telling an artist “ok, here’s how Waylon did it, we just follow this model”.

Also, thought we praised an artist for standing up against a label around here? Hell isn’t that how this site started? Freeing an artist from a label to be creative? But it isn’t covered at all here. Maybe look into that more before suggesting it is some simple choice he is making.
“My guess is this is not where Kacey Musgraves hopes to be 5 years down the road.”
– my guess Jamey didn’t want to be here either, but like many artists, finds himself at a stand off with a label.
I applaud him for not trolling out music just to fufill some contract.

His dispute and resolution to it is going to be a lot bigger impact than just being “free”.

To tell the truth, when I first heard the beginning of Merry Go Round, I though it was a Taylor S. song, Kacey Musgraves has good lyrics, but sounds too formula for my old-school ears. She has talent and I think the powers that be (maybe the leftover promoters of Nashville Star – which I just learned she was on) had hoped she was just enough on the edge of pop, but at the same time, just enough country to draw a new crowd. I tried, but can’t listen long.

The name Taylor Swift never popped into my head when listening to “Merry Go ‘Round,” and honestly I am shocked anyone would have this reaction. Many have floated the theory that Kacey Musgraves is simply an alter ego of Taylor Swift for the industry. I think it will take some time to see if that is true. Taylor Swift never wrote a #1 song for anyone else.

Well, as I’ve said on other posts, I listen to radio to hear new songs. The first few times I heard “Merry Go Round”, it came on during blocks with no intro or outro from the DJ to tell me who the artist was.

And Trigger, it’s a GOOD thing that Taylor never writes for anyone else. I’m not sure I could handle Jason Aldean rapping “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” with generic guitar riffs :).

Kacey is a ripoff of Miranda Lambert with a lot less talent so that was a dumb thing to say. She has patterned or tried to after Miranda’s career but why Miranda is unique and super talented, Kacey uses shock to make up for a lack of talent, and she didnt write anything for Miranda, she wrote it and Miranda like it and asked to put it on her album which Kacey later angrily released it on a video download and she was lucky she gave it to Lambert because if you listeded to both versions Miranda sang the crap out of it….

Her album is okay. She’s on the third place in my book after Caitlin Rose & Ashley Monroe in the list of new Country Queens. Glad to know I’m not alone in getting some Taylor vibes in her. She just reminds me a lot of the Taylor circa ’06. Not that it’s a bad thing.

She seems a tad bit arrogant with her talk about how country music is crap nowadays but her music is apparently awesome. Also, the whole “weeding out the wrong fans” thing makes it seem as if she’s looking to create and label a fanbase that’s “elite” and superior to regular country fans.

That said, I do enjoy a few of her songs, they’re original and thoughtful and she isn’t exactly wrong; I can’t listen to that crap on most country radios for more than 5 minutes.

Kacey is only considered “groundbreaking” or whatever because she pushes a more secular, progressive thought than the traditional God fearing, conservative thought most mainstream country fans like. She is a good songwriter but her voice is nothing special, and she seems to have a wrong idea of how to own her genre. Pop is corny to people who don’t like pop, rap is corny to those who don’t like rap and so on. She wants her own version of country and that’s ok, she works hard to make it it seems, but we shouldn’t applaud her disdain for her bread and butter. She is actually more of a Cliche’ than the bright eyed country belting girl- she is the bad, rebel who goes against the grain. Her lyrics are the only “clever” thing here, but take away the shock value of them and she’s Taylor Swift with a bad attitude. Yawn, next please.

I too feel that Kacey Musgraves is a welcome breath of fresh air in country music. However, I still wholly believe that if you want to push a traditional country artist to the role of female queen it should be Sunny Sweeney. She’s probably waaaaaaay too twangy and traditional for most mainstream listeners, but I don’t care. People derided Randy Travis in much the same way and he almost saved the traditional sound all by his lonesome. Sweeney would be my first choice to be the flag barer for saving traditional country.

I like her don’t get me wrong..but I think going from singing/performing with Texas Country Artists to main stream country is a sell out. She comes off as arrogant and shallow. I think she is a great singer but she has to work on her attitude.

Oh Please i have been listening to country music for my entire 47 years and in the door walks Kasey Musgraves and makes it sound like she is here to save country! Please not only should she go away with that attitude she should also admit that she has copied her childhood neighbor and great country superestar Miranda Lambert, the only difference is Miranda has more talent, more voice, a better attitude, and she is not ignorant enough to bite the hand that feeds her and while she does talk about guns, and such she doesnt constantly try to shock with references to drugs all the time like Kacey, Go away miss Musgraves if you think country is cheesie get to heck off the Opry stage, you will not endure your career has probably already peaked and that is all she wrote, and if you want to talk cheese lets talk about your costume (dress) at the CMAs did you not realize you looked like an idiot????